The Top-Rated Safari Lodges 2013

Only 2 hours from Port Elizabeth, Kwandwe Ecca Lodge is fun, flamboyant and fabulous, with a 'funk-meets-futuristic-farmhouse' ambience. The 6 suites each feature wrap around wooden decks and private plunge pools with views over the reserve.

Children of any age are welcome.

Inyati has 11 en-suite luxury chalets which all have glorious river views. Each is equipped with air-conditioning, mosquito nets, telephone, and beautifully appointed bathrooms with outdoor showers.

Children aged 12 years and older are welcome.

Woodbury Lodge is located on a hillside in the heart of the Amakhala Game Reserve and boasts sweeping views across the reserve.  Enjoy morning and evening game drives in search of wildlife including lion, rhino, elephant, cheetah, buffalo, giraffe, black wildebeest, zebra, and over 16 antelope species.

Children aged 6 years and over are welcome.

Overlooking the sweeping plains leading down to the Bushmans River, this splendidly restored Edwardian manor house offers guests refined comfort, congenial service and enticing cuisine in the African bush.

Children aged 8 years and older are welcome.

Amakhala Safari Lodge is hidden in a valley in the indigenous bushveld of the 8,500 hectare Big 5 Amakhala Game Reserve. The 11 stylish air-conditioned suites with tented fronts all open out onto a private deck with its own plunge pool.

Children aged 9 years and older are welcome.

Pumba Water Lodge is set on the shores of a lake in the heart of the 6,500 hectare, malaria-free, Pumba Private Game Reserve. The lodge offers 12 stone walled, thatched, air-conditioned suites set along the lake's edge, complete with private deck and plunge pool.

Children aged 6 years and older are welcome.

Set along the lush green banks of the Great Fish River, this extraordinary safari lodge affords spectacular views of the wild yet gentle African landscape. The 9 elegant suites feature floor-to-ceiling doors which fold back to reveal uninterrupted wilderness vistas.

Children aged 12 years and older are welcome.

Lion Sands River Lodge has 18 luxurious thatched chalets in total, and is set on the banks of the Sabie river in the southern portion of the 65,000 hectare Sabi Sand Game Reserve.

Children aged 10 years and older are welcome.

Bayethe Tented Lodge is a 5* retreat in the Shamwari Private Game Reserve and offers a wonderfully luxurious experience in the heart of this spellbinding reserve. Each of the 12 air-conditioned Superior Tents are camouflaged under trees allowing ample privacy and have a viewing deck with a private plunge pool.

Children aged 12 years and older are welcome.

Chitwa Chitwa  basks in the sun on the banks of one of the largest dams in the exclusive Sabi Sand Reserve, which forms part of the Greater Kruger Park. Each of the artistically styled suites open onto a private lake-view deck with its own plunge pool.

Children of any age are welcome.

Eagles Crag Lodge is an avante-guard masterpiece of thatch, stone and glass. Each of the 9 Junior Suites is decorated in light and contemporary colours, with wall-to-wall glass doors on 2 sides, the en-suite rooms all provide stunning views of the surrounding cliffs.

Children aged 12 years and older are welcome.

Nkorho Bush Lodge is situated in the Big 5 Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve and can accommodate a maximum of 16 people in homely yet stylish en-suite thatched chalets. Game drives and bush walks are included in your safari experience here.

Children of any age are welcome.

With exclusive traversing rights over 14,700 hectares of Kruger's game-rich wilderness, Ngala Safari Lodge offers an extraordinary African wildlife safari experience in an area renowned for its exceptional Big 5 game viewing.

Children of any age are welcome.

Tree Tops Lodge is a luxury tented lodge, situated in the 10,500 hectare malaria-free Lalibela Game Reserve in the heart of the Eastern Cape. The luxury safari tents are perched high on thatched platforms at 'tree top' level, and joined by raised walkways. They offer spectacular views over the thickly-wooded valley.

Children aged 12 years and older are welcome.

Lentaba Lodge is located in the 10,500 Lalibela Game Reserve and offers 8 secluded thatched chalets, each with air conditioning and a private observation deck to make the most of the views over the valley bushveld.

Children aged 12 years and older are welcome.

The accommodation at Kariega Main Lodge consists of  one, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom chalets set in the malaria-free Kareiga Game Reserve. Available activities include game drives, bush walks, fishing, bird watching, canoeing, and cruises on the Kareiga River.

Children of any age are welcome.

Elephant Plains Game Lodge is situated on a dry river bed overlooking an open area with a waterhole in the northern section of the world-famous Sabi Sand reserve.  This location provides a wonderful base for game drives in search of Africa's Big 5.

Children aged 3 years and older are welcome.

River Lodge, in the malaria-free Kariega Game Reserve, has 10 luxuriously appointed air-conditioned suites. The Bushmans River flows beneath the deck of the main restaurant, and the outdoor dining is a magnificent experience under the African night sky.

Children aged 10 years and older are welcome.

Africa on Foot Camp offers walking safaris in a game-rich area of the Klaserie Game Reserve.  The camp has just 5 chalets, ensuring an intimate and personal safari experience, and game drives are also offered in addition to walking safaris.

Children aged 5 years and older are welcome.

Each tented luxury suite is built on a raised wooden porch and is furnished with a huge canopied double bed, modern en-suite bathroom, cosy sitting areas and private deck with panoramic views across the Addo plains. 

Children aged 10 years and older are welcome.